Who knew Denver was so far…
Weather is the bane of air travel. My 2.5 hour flight extended itself to almost 4 hours in the air due to storms around Denver. Add a 40 minute departure delay to that and you have a pretty long trip for such a short distance.
The guy wearing the “I (heart) to Fart” shirt at the airport made it all worthwhile, though. (Who would wear something like that in public?!)
I think the Denver airport is one of the worst airports I’ve ever visited. First, there’s the train you must take to get to the terminals. It was packed and the herd got bottlenecked a number of times. The ground transportation story is also very confusing. I got my bag and then proceeded to look for a shuttle to the hotel but there was nothing in view from the baggage claim except the exit. I poked my head out there but none of the signs said “To your hotel” to me.
I called the hotel and they told me which shuttle company to find, so I searched for them. The map of the terminal was useless — there was no “you are here” label and there was something about it that confused this tired traveller. Anyway, it turned out that I walked right by the desks for these shuttle companies after getting off the train. Since my goal was to find my bag and I was stuck within a herd of people all doing the same, I didn’t even notice them.
What’s the worst airport you’ve passed through?
June 12th, 2006 at 10:10 pm
Decatur, IL is the worst airport. On another note, I look forward to meeting you in person!
June 13th, 2006 at 5:34 pm
Palm Springs airport. But that’s only because in order to land, you have to go over a mountain range, then down into the desert valley. The nature of the geography creates a whirlwind in the valley, so there is no such thing as a smooth descent into Palm Springs. Ever. It’s the only other time I ever got close to being sick on an airplane (the first time is a long story, short version: we nearly landed, took off, nearly landed, took off, nearly landed, took off, up, down, up, down, up, down for over an hour. Everyone was sick.).
On the other hand, Pittsburgh is an awesome airport to get stuck in!
June 16th, 2006 at 12:22 pm
I’ve always laughed at St. Louis because they have these smoking booths with smokers inside who looked caged and very unhealthy.
Portland though is pretty darn cool. Oregon or course, not Maine.
November 26th, 2006 at 6:00 am
I’ve had some difficult experiences in Toronto. But that was before they opened the new terminal.
My worse experience ever was in Warsaw. it was just as things we’re loosening up and the amount of travel and increased dramatically but the infrastructure wasn’t in place. I arrived at the airport three hours early and there was no counter to check in at. Come back in an hour the signs said. So, I did and then the line was huge. I started to realize that I wouldn’t get checked in and through screening before the flight was due to leave. But I didn’t worry (very much) because everyone around me was travelling on the same flight so obviously the airline was going to have to hold the flight for us all. Ironically, it was a Swissair flight to Zurich. The Swiss must have been fuming. One I was on the plane it was like I was in another country.
Zurich, on the other was the best airport I’ve ever used. The transfer area was clearly marked and convenient. Staff helped you immediately as you entered the terminal. The details are fading but I remember it as very pleasant. of course it was benefitting somewhat from the contrast.